Sunjata

Wedding Traditions 6/16/13

            Within the story “Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples” there are traditions that become modified throughout the process of a wedding. The first tradition to change is the bride-carrying ceremony, and this leads to the changing of the traditional bride-escorting song.. The ceremony was originally a bride-escorting ceremony versus the carrying ceremony. The original bride-escorting ceremony was performed with a song being sung. The song went like this, “Walk well, / Bride of my brother, / Walk well. / Do not put us in the dust” (Sunjata line 759-762).  However, one bride, Sogolon Conde, had a twisted foot, so she could not walk. Due to this the other wives picked her up and carried her to her husband’s tent, and thus the bride-carrying ceremony was created. The bride-escorting song was created because the sister – in – laws saw the brides mangled foot, and saw that when she moved she kicked up dust in each direction.

            A German marital custom is one of breaking old porcelain and dinnerware in front of the bride and groom. The broken pieces symbolize good luck and a happy life. (German) Apparently “The noise made by breaking earthenware items was supposed the fend off evil spirits. The actual term eve-of-wedding ceremony ("Polterabend") was mentioned the first time in central-Germany in 1517” (Der Polterabend). This tradition differs from the traditions in Sunjata because this tradition focuses on both the bride and groom whereas the traditions within in Sunjata focus mainly on the bride. This is a fascinating custom. It uses Pre-Christian views to create a tradition that still happens today. Having attended a wedding that celebrated the Polterabend custom I find it very interesting. It has been modernized and is very common within the western world today within German weddings.

Work Cited

"Der Polterabend." Der Polterabend. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2013. <http://www.rosenthalusa.com/index.php/fuseaction/elwin/elwinID/1368/elwinBG/ffffff/elwinOffset/10/elwinAlt/Der Polterabend.htm>.

"German Wedding Traditions." German Wedding Traditions. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2013. <http://www.personal.psu.edu/jld345/German.html>.

"Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande Peoples." The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2013. 1514-576. Print.